Reconstruction of Palmer hockey

For the Palmer Moose, the start of the 2004-05 prep hockey season is like the beginning of a project -- the construction of the Palmer hockey program.

Like those building the new Palmer Ice Arena -- which will ultimately be a great aid to the PHS pucks program -- first-year head coach Norm Rousey is building his program from the foundation up. Though Palmer returns just three players who saw significant action on the Moose varsity squad last season, Palmer has 26 skaters on the roster -- a positive note for a program that has struggled with a lack of numbers in recent history.

Rousey said he has about 10 players that are either new to the sport or have very limited experience in the game of hockey.

"We have a really big discrepancy in talent," Rousey said. "We're trying to work everyone in."

Among those returning to the Moose program are Alex Senta, Cody Gable and Bree Baskin.

Senta is Palmer's leading returning scorer. Last season Senta was third on the Moose squad with 15 points, notching nine goals and six assists.

"He's a hustler," Rousey said. "Always wheeling, always working hard."

Gable and Baskin are Palmer's top returning blueliners. Though Gable has talent with the puck, Rousey does not want to sacrifice his defensive talents by moving Gable to a forward position.

"We like his strength back there," Rousey said. "If he can walk it forward and do something, that's good."

Baskin returns as arguably Palmer's most stable defenseman. Last season Baskin teamed with Katy Aplin on the all-girl Moose defense pair, and one of the most consistent blueliner duos the Moose had to offer. Aplin is one of a few players Palmer lost to reasons other than graduation. She moved on to a prep school in the Lower 48, Rousey said.

Other loses include leading scorer Spencer Galvin, who transferred to Wasilla, and starting goaltender Kyle Berti, who moved with his family to Washington.

Inheriting the goaltending duties, at least temporarily, is senior Rhone Schenker. The new netminder is not just new to the position, but new to the sport.

"He said he's caught before in baseball, so we put'em in net," Rousey said. "We borrowed some gear and are looking to get him some new skates."

In his first career varsity start, Schenker recorded 45 saves, but saw 63 shots.

Rousey said with the gap in talent and the abundance of youth, the team is looking to learn and he is asking his athletes to play smart hockey.

"We have to use our feet, not our stick, use our head, not our mouth," Rousey. "All those little things we got to try to figure out."

Getting into game shape and learning the skills of the game are also priorities for Palmer, according

to Rousey.

"As time goes on we'll gain fitness, be more stable in the third," Rousey said.

As the players get into better physical condition and adjust to the responsibilities of their positions, Rousey said the team can start hitting the more complex points of the game.

"We just got to skate, go to fundamentals, find our skills" Rousey said. "We can do systems after we get our skills down. Get a little chemistry and we can get used to being a hockey team."